Richard Johnson: Ex-England bowler rejoins Middlesex as first-team coach

Richard Johnson (right, pictured with bowler Steven Finn) was part of the Middlesex coaching staff from 2011 to 2019

Ex-England bowler Richard Johnson has been hired as first-team coach by his former club Middlesex.

The 46-year-old leaves his current role as assistant coach at Surrey to link up with Middlesex ahead of the new season.

Johnson took 27 wickets in 13 matches for England and once took all 10 wickets in a first-class innings for Middlesex against Derbyshire.

He returns to the club where he worked as bowling coach from 2011 and then as head coach from 2018 to 2019.

Johnson made his Middlesex debut in 1992 and moved to Somerset in 2001, before his retirement in 2007.

After returning to Middlesex in 2011, he helped the team win the Second Division Championship title in his first season as well as the County Championship in 2016.

He became head coach in the second half of the 2018 season before leaving in 2019.

Speaking about his return, he told the club's website: "I feel incredibly honoured to be given the chance to be the first-team coach of this amazing club.

"It is a place that I hold extremely close to my heart, having been associated with the club since I was 10 years old.

"The opportunity to return and give my all in trying to make Middlesex successful again is one that not only excites me but makes me incredibly proud."